Shades of Grey
by alicerosemalfoy
Summary: When the ladies-charmer,Draco Malfoy, goes to New York for a holiday, he never expected to be pulled out of flowing traffic by a muggle girl...and into something totally unplanned. DM/OC


Disclaimer: I own nothing...but i wish i did!^^

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**'Shades of Grey' **

It had been a long day, well…a terribly long week actually.

Anabelle watched the busy day take its last breath as the sun went to rest behind the towering skyline of New York…

-o-

It had possibly been the _worst _day Draco had _ever_ experienced. The blasted American Ministry of Magic wouldn't allow anyone outside the U.S. to apparate or use port-key to enter the country…not since the war against Voldemort had been extremely lucky that he had even got a visa seeing as he had been deeply _involved_ with the dark arts.

But those days were long over, now all the Malfoy heir did was go to parties and play around with girls.

Anyways, this 'safety' measure by the Ministry meant that young Mr. Malfoy had to travel with _filthy muggles _on a stuffy, crammed muggle-broom-equivalent, just that it didn't look anything like a broom in the slightest, more like something a bored troll had stuck together.

"I think they call it an aeroflame, or something like that." A very miffed Draco had told his best-friend Blaise earlier in the day, who found it highly amusing that of all wizarding people a _Malfoy _would put up with muggles and their curious inventions.

Draco leaned back in his - too hard - seat and put his milky forehead against the cool pane of aeroflame glass, drifting off into a world full of wild parties and hot New Yorker chicks.

-o-

Draco's transparent eyelids fluttered open as a ray of light broke through a thin crack in the dark green curtains and fell on his face.

"Good morning New York!" he called, stretching his limbs in all possible directions as if trying to reach the distant corners of the world.

"What shall I do today?" Draco wondered out loud, which he often tended to do…Talking to himself was a habit that had stuck to him like an embarrassing shadow, from the early days of his lonely childhood.

"Shower and breakfast first. And them we'll see where the giant throws us." he said, drawing open the heavy curtains and breathing in the buzzing air.

Ten minutes later and Draco was standing on the threshold of his recently acquired New Yorker apartment, watching ordinary muggles go about their ordinary lives. Just as he was wondering whether to turn left or turn right, Draco spied a charming little muggle café on the other side of an extremely busy road.

Oblivious to what those loud things on wheels were, he stepped ignorantly right into the flowing stream of traffic, and jumped like a startled Jarvey when those rude muggles proceeded to pelt him with insults and their hideous beasts of transportation started making a crude honking sound.

The next thing he knew he was being dragged away by a ranting, but very pretty, young woman.

"Are you _trying _to get yourself killed?! You're in New York, man, you can't just walk out in front of the cars like that!"

"Cars? Is that what they're called?" Draco frowned at the strange name.

"What? Dude, have you been living in a cave the last few centuries? You gave me the fucking fright of my life!" the pretty girl said as she sat Draco down in one of the chairs of the café.

"You're hot when you're mad." he said appreciatively, looking her up and down.

"And that's inappropriate, considering I just saved you from being mauled by angry traffic-goers. Now, what can I get you?" she pulled out a little notepad from her apron and a pen from behind her long, blonde hair.

"Um," Draco blinked, taking in the full extent of her looks. "Tea please. With milk and sugar."

She had slightly tanned, clear skin, _very _long legs that seemed to go on for miles, hair that was the golden colour of buttercups and reached halfway down her back, and her eyes…oh they were mesmerizing, they were big, bright and a very light green. She had a tag on her shirt that said: 'Hello, my name is Anabelle'

-o-

"Hello? Anyone there?" Anabelle waved her hand in front of the guy's who's life she'd just saved eyes.

"Huh?" he stared at her.

"What a dimwit." she thought to herself.

"Anything else?" Anabelle repeated for the third time.

"No, no thanks. Just tea."

She was about to leave and get this guy his tea, when he called her back.

"Hey, Anabelle, is it?"

She turned on the spot. "Yes? What is it?"

"When's your shift over?" he smirked confidently. She assumed he was used to getting his way with girls, seeing as he was rather…tasty looking.

The young man had platinum blonde hair that was slightly mussed up, a _very_ cute English accent, extraordinarily pale skin, a confident smirk plastered on his face, even a toned body could be made out under the tight, dark green t-shirt. But what stood out most to Anabelle were his cold, closed off, steel grey eyes, that gave her the feeling he was seeing right through her like those scanning machines at the security department in the airport.

"It's over when it's over." she smirked back and turned on her heel.

For the rest of the day Draco sat in the New Yorker café on 5th Avenue, watching life play out in front of him and trying to get that pretty waitress' Anabelle's attention. To no avail…But Draco had time, three months of holidays to be exact.

-o-

Every day for about a month, Draco, her regular English customer came to the café early in the mornings and left in the evenings.

He was an interesting man, always hitting on her, but continuously reserved, never revealing anything about himself. Anabelle was curious about what had made him so closed off, and had often been tempted to give in and just go for lunch with him.

One day, a particularly sunny one, Draco came and ordered his usual: Tea with milk. As Anabelle placed his tea on the table, Draco leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Will you go out with me today?" he asked for the millionth time that week.

"You'll have to try harder than that, Draco." she told him.

"Do you want me to run in front of the cars again?" he looked at the bustling road filled with hundreds of cars.

"No. Just be more creative, and I might actually agree to go out with you."

After what Anabelle had told him, Draco went back to his apartment and started experimenting with spells, trying to transfigure a cup into something creative. "What the hell does she mean with 'more creative'?!" he thought out loud.

Flopping backwards onto his king-sized bed, Draco felt at a total loss. What should he do? Then it came to him. "Why ever didn't I think of that before. You're such an idiot!"

He jumped up, grabbed some long-distance floo powder, threw it into the fireplace, stuck his head into the flames and shouted a very familiar address.

Only a few seconds later Draco's head was explaining the whole situation to his best-friend and fellow ladies-charmer, Blaise.

"Whoa! Hold your Hippogriffs! Are you trying to tell me that your aim is to impress a _muggle_ girl?" Blaise scoffed.

"I know, I know, but you should see her! Seriously, she's a bomb, Blaise."

"Ok, so you need something creative? Hmmm…isn't your apartment opposite the place where she works?" Blaise asked.

"Yea, directly."

"Right, so here's the plan. Oh, Merlin I can't believe I'm encouraging you. Draco, listen to me. Hang a moving banner from your window with whatever you want her to know, and then just make sure she sees it. I've got to go now."

"No. Wait, Blaise!" Draco called. "A moving banner? Isn't that, like, against the law. You know, it's too obvious that it's magic."

"Just tell her it's some sort of new technology. Muggles have that kind of stuff, don't they? Anyways, I've really got to go now. See you, buddy!" And with that Blaise was gone leaving Draco inspired.

Getting up from where he had bee crouching on the hardwood floor in front of the fireplace, Draco grabbed his wand from the table and with a few swishes and a couple flicks the cup was transformed into a truly massive banner that was long enough to reach from the window of his apartment to the bottom of the sky-riser.

-o-

"Excuse me, Miss?" the Australian tourist she was currently serving called for Anabelle's attention.

"Yes? Anything else I can get you?" she smiled.

"Well, I think you should look around." the man said to her pointing at something behind Anabelle.

She turned, curious as to why the tourist had told her to, and was stunned at what her eyes showed her.

A banner was softly swishing in the wind from one of the top windows of the opposite building. It was off white and had pretty, pale pink and blue butterflies _literally_ fluttering around on it, and in fancy, swirling pink writing it said: 'Fancy a Picnic Anabelle?'.

Wow Draco had really outdone himself. Her jaw dropped open.

With saying 'more creative' she'd been thinking of a bunch of flowers or something. Certainly not anything as extravagant as _this_!

"Impressed?" someone drawled in her ear. She jumped.

"Draco!" Anabelle slapped him on the arm. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that. But yes, I am impressed…" She added as an afterthought.

"Does that mean you'll go out with me?" Draco raised his pale, left eyebrow and smirked at her.

"I guess a Picnic would be fine." She smiled at her feet, before glancing up at his -very handsome- face.

Draco smirked at her. "Good, lets go." His grey eyes dancing in the sunlight.

"What!? Now? But-But, Draco, I have to work!"

"I already dealt with that." …By giving the café owner an unholy sum of money, apparently Anabelle was the guys best waitress…and now he had her…finally.

-o-

"Tadaa!" Draco called as he lifted his fair hands from Anabelle's eyes.

What she saw next was something _truly _beautiful: They were standing on a secluded patch of grass in Central Park. A willow stood tall, and graceful in the middle, the thin branches swaying in the wind as if dancing to the soft rustle of leaves all around. Buttercups and daisies spattered the grass, amongst them lay a red and white chequered blanket laden with fairy-cakes, jam sandwiches and strawberries. A glittering lake stretched out to one side, a small wooden rowing boat bobbing up and down by the bank.

Anabelle's jaw dropped open with a faint 'pop'.

"Better close that mouth of yours before a fairy flies in." Draco told her, only then realising what exactly he had said. "Oh, Merlin, Draco you idiot! You can't just casually mention magical stuff." the little voice in his mind lectured him.

Closing her full mouth, she giggled, "The only fairies flying into my mouth will be those dear little fairy-cakes." Anabelle grabbed his hand, startling Draco slightly, and dragging him over to the Picnic arrangement.

Hours passed as the wizard and the muggle ate and talked, talked and ate…

The sky was turning a rosy colour, dying the glittering lake into a pool of pale blood.

"Come." Draco stood up.

"Oh." Anabelle's face fell. "I thought we could stay a little longer."

"We're not going anywhere, don't worry." Draco led her over to the boat, helped her get in like a gentleman does, sat down opposite the pretty woman and started rowing out onto the lake.

"I'd never have sorted you into the romance department." Anabelle broke the silence of faintly splashing water.

"No? What department would you have stuck me into before?" Draco, once again, raised his left eyebrow.

"Well," she flashed a grin at him. "More in the 'secure a good catch and have your fun with it' department."

"How do you know I'm not still in that category?"

"Well…this whole thing is pretty romantic for a Picnic if you ask me. But really, only time will tell if you've changed from being such a stuck up prat."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Draco put his hand to his heart, pretending to be offended.

The two people out on the lake decided to finally head home when the cold night air started nipping at them like hundreds of Cornish Pixies.

"I had fun." Anabelle shyly glanced up into those grey orbs.

"Maybe we could repeat this." Draco smiled -actually smiled!- down at her, truly magical, beryl eyes.

"Yea, good night Draco." Anabelle said, turning to go.

"Yea…"

-o-

The weeks to follow were the best Draco had had in a long, long time.

They had gone to a thing called a Zoo where he had seen his first lion and ate his first French-fries.

They had made a trip to go on a muggle contraption called a Carousel, where Draco had first experienced the joy and messiness of candyfloss.

They had climbed through a giant human, and when they arrived at the head could see the whole expanse of the Big Apple (why muggles called New York that, still made no sense to him in the slightest.)

And finally, they had gone to a marvellous thing called a cinema that, without magic, made pictures move on a massive screen. Draco was amazed at what muggles managed to make without wands and spells.

Anabelle and Draco grew evermore closer the less time he had…

-o-

"I don't want you to go back!" Anabelle put her dainty hand to Draco's firm chest. It was time to leave, his stay was over and they were saying their good-byes at the airport.

"Just because everything's changing, doesn't mean it's never been this way before." He wiped the crystal tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"Well yes! But it'll never be the same again!"

"Just let your memories grow stronger and stronger , until they're before your eyes." he told her. "Pick a star on the dark horizon, to remember me by, and then it won't be too long until my return."

Anabelle looked up to his grey moonstone eyes…but, wait, they were no longer cold and icy. Over the last few weeks together, not only had Draco's personality made a drastic turn for the better, but also his eyes had, through some sort of higher magic that she couldn't explain, slowly shed the different shades of grey to reveal his true colours. Tourmaline, that was the name for the light blue jewel…her birthstone.

"Goodbye, Draco." She took a step back, not wanting him to miss his flight.

"I'll come back when you call me, no need to say goodbye…" And with those last few words, Draco turned and left…leaving Anabelle stand alone once again…

It had been a long few hours…well a long day actually. Draco was gone, leaving her alone in the world again.

-o-

Anabelle watched the busy day take it's last breath as the sun went to rest behind the towering skyline of New York. Remembering what he had told her earlier, she picked the brightest star she could find on the dark horizon and let the memories of the previous evening fill her mind…

"I'll miss you." Anabelle had told him as her and Draco were standing on the roof of his apartment tower.

"I'll miss you too…" Draco leaned down, and just for a second his pale, but soft lips met her full, rosy ones…

THE END

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So this was just a small short-story that I had to write for english class. I hope you all enjoyed it! By the way, the last few moments were inspired by Regina Spektor's 'The Call'. Also I would like to thank my Best-friend and Beta reader Ellie (EllieLovesDogs) for her help, go check her out, she also writes Harry Potter fanfiction!

alicerosemalfoy!

P.S. Review please!


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